Etymology

thermoelectromotive

Today it means: That produces an electric current by the application of heat Full definition →

English electromotive ← Middle English motif ← Late Latin mōtīvum
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʷʰer-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*gʷʰermos
  3. Proto-Hellenic*kʷʰermós
  4. Ancient Greekθερμός (thermós)
  5. Englishthermo-
  6. Frenchélectro-
  7. Ancient Greekἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron)
  8. Latinēlectrum
  9. Latinelectro-
  10. Englishelectro-
  11. Anglo-Normanmotif
  12. Middle Frenchmotif
  13. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
  15. Proto-Italic*moweō
  16. Latinmoveō
  17. Latinmōtus
  18. Late Latinmōtīvum
  19. Middle Englishmotif
  20. Englishmotive
  21. Englishelectromotive
  22. English todaythermoelectromotive

From thermo- + electromotive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.